Winglet

ABSTRACT

A winglet for attachment to a wing portion of an aircraft is disclosed having a winglet tip and a winglet root opposite from the winglet tip. The winglet has an opening for receiving therethrough a connector for connecting the winglet to a wing portion in use. The winglet has a retainer internal of the winglet for use in retaining the connector relative to the winglet. The retainer has a hole that extends along an axis that passes through the opening for receiving therethrough a portion of the connector when the connector is located through the opening. The retainer includes a body for reacting against a retention component with which the connector engages in use.

CROSS RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/604,197, filed May 24, 2017, now pending, which claims priority fromGreat Britain Patent Application No. 1609142.3, filed May 24, 2016, theentire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to aircraft wings, and in particular towinglets for attachment to wing portions of aircraft.

BACKGROUND

Aircraft wings may comprise devices at their wingtips to changeaerodynamic properties of the wings. For example, wing tip fences canact to control vortices at wingtips. Another example is winglets, whichtypically take the form of small wing-like structures at the end ofaircraft wings, and which are angled with respect to the rest of thewing. A winglet may be an upper portion of a wingtip device that istypically angled toward the upper (i.e. suction) surface of the wing, ora lower portion of a wingtip device that is typically angled toward thelower (pressure) surface of the wing. A winglet, for example an upperportion of a wingtip device, can improve the efficiency of an aircraftby improving the lift to drag ratio of a wing. Winglets can alsoincrease effective wingspan without substantially increasing the widthof an aircraft. For example, when a wing bends during flight, a lowerportion of a wingtip device at the end of the wing can become level soas to provide effective lift, and hence act as a quasi-span extensiondevice. Since the width of an aircraft is often restricted, for examplefor compatibility with airports, winglets that extend the effectivewingspan without extending the width of the plane can be of greatutility.

A drawback of some known fittings of winglets to wing portions, such asbutt strap fittings, is that interchange of parts so connected can takeconsiderable time and effort, for example, due to the considerablenumber of components that need to be removed and refitted. Interchangecan be particularly burdensome when complex wing geometries areinvolved, because such geometries can make achieving the requiredtolerances more difficult.

It would be advantageous for winglets to be easily and quickly attachedto, and detached from, wing portions. This would, for example, assistrapid exchange of a winglet for another winglet in the case of damagebeing sustained by the winglet in use. It would also be advantageous ifwinglets met interchangeability requirements, i.e. to be able to betaken “off the shelf” and be quickly and easily installed onto and/orremoved from a wing portion with minimum reworking of the winglet and/orwing portion.

SUMMARY

A first aspect of the present invention provides a winglet forattachment to a wing portion of an aircraft, the winglet comprising: awinglet tip; a winglet root opposite from the winglet tip and having anopening for receiving therethrough a connector for connecting thewinglet to a wing portion in use; and a retainer internal of the wingletand for use in retaining the connector relative to the winglet in use,the retainer having a hole that extends along an axis that passesthrough the opening for receiving therethrough a portion of theconnector when the connector is located through the opening, theretainer comprising a body for reacting against a retention componentwith which the connector engages in use.

The winglet root may comprise a first thrust bearing for abuttingagainst a second thrust bearing of the wing portion and for defining aminimum distance between the winglet and the wing portion in use.

The winglet may comprise a faring for forming a seal between the wingletand the wing portion in use when the distance between the winglet andthe wing portion is at the minimum distance.

The first thrust bearing may be for receiving therethrough the connectorwhen the connector is located through the opening.

The winglet may comprise one or more spigots protruding from the wingletroot for receipt into one or more corresponding recesses of a said wingportion.

The, or each, spigot may be tapered.

The winglet may comprise upper and lower surfaces connecting the wingletroot to the winglet tip, and at least one of the upper and lowersurfaces has an aperture to allow access to the retainer from theexterior of the winglet.

The axis may extend along a path at which a lift force resulting fromthe winglet in use is greatest.

The winglet may be a lower portion of a wingtip device.

A second aspect of the invention provides a wing portion for anaircraft, the wing portion comprising: an upper surface and a lowersurface, at least one of the upper and lower surfaces defining a hole,the hole being for receiving a connector for connecting a winglet to thewing portion; and a fixing arrangement internal of the wing portion, thefixing arrangement being for fixing the connector in the hole.

The hole may be a blind hole.

The fixing arrangement may be for releasably fixing the connector in thehole.

The hole may define an axis that is perpendicular to the one of theupper and lower surfaces at a mouth of the hole.

The lower surface may define the hole.

The fixing arrangement may comprise a threaded surface for mating with athreaded surface of the connector.

The threaded surface of the fixing arrangement may be a female screwthread.

The wing portion may comprise one or more recesses for receiving one ormore corresponding spigots of the winglet in use.

The, or each, recess may extend along an axis that is parallel to anaxis of the hole.

The wing portion may comprise the connector, and the connector isreceived in the hole and is fixed in the hole by the fixing arrangement.

A third aspect of the invention provides a wing portion for an aircraft,the wing portion comprising an upper surface, a lower surface, and aconnector for connecting a winglet to the wing portion, the connectorprotruding from one of the upper and lower surfaces and having athreaded surface.

The threaded surface may be distal from the one of the upper and lowersurfaces.

The threaded surface may be a male screw thread.

The wing portion may comprise one or more recesses for receiving one ormore corresponding spigots of the winglet in use.

The, or each, recess may extend along an axis that is parallel to anaxis of the connector.

The, or each, recess may be tapered.

The wing portion may be or may comprise an upper portion of a wingtipdevice.

A fourth aspect of the invention provides a system, comprising: a wingportion for an aircraft, the wing portion having an upper surface and alower surface; a winglet according to the first aspect; and theconnector, wherein the connector protrudes from one of the upper andlower surfaces of the wing portion, or is for connection to the wingportion so as to protrude from the one of the upper and lower surfacesof the wing portion.

The wing portion may be according to the second aspect.

The connector may protrude from the one of the upper and lower surfacesof the wing portion, is located in the opening of the winglet root, andis located in the hole of the retainer; and the retainer comprises theretention component, the retention component being engaged with theconnector and reacting against the body of the retainer to retain theconnector in the winglet.

The wing portion may comprise the second thrust bearing, and the secondthrust bearing is abutting the first thrust bearing of the winglet todefine the minimum distance between the winglet and the wing portion.

The system may comprise a faring that forms a seal between the wingletand the wing portion.

The connector may extend through the first thrust bearing.

The retainer may be adjustable so as to adjust the extent to which theconnector extends into the winglet.

The connector may comprise a first threaded surface, and the retentioncomponent comprises a second threaded surface for mating with the firstthreaded surface.

The first threaded surface may be a male screw thread, and the secondthreaded surface may be a female screw thread.

The retainer may comprise a positive retaining component to limitmovement of the retention component relative to the body of theretainer.

The wing portion may comprise the one or more corresponding recesses,and wherein the one or more spigots are located in the one or morerecesses.

The connector may be received in the hole of the wing portion and may befixed in the hole of the wing portion by the fixing arrangement.

The connector may comprise a second threaded surface, and the fixingarrangement may comprise a threaded surface for mating with the secondthreaded surface of the connector.

The second threaded surface of the connector may be a male screw thread,and the threaded surface of the fixing arrangement may be a female screwthread.

The connector may be a cylindrical spar.

The connector may be removable from the wing portion and from thewinglet.

The connector may comprise a fusible portion.

A fifth aspect of the invention provides a method of attaching a wingletaccording to the first aspect to a wing portion of an aircraft, themethod comprising: providing a wing portion having an upper surface, alower surface, and a connector protruding from one of the upper andlower surfaces; inserting the connector through the opening of thewinglet root and into the hole of the retainer; and engaging a retentioncomponent with the connector so that the retention component reactsagainst the body of the retainer so as to retain the connector in thewinglet.

The method may comprise inserting the connector into a hole in the oneof the upper and lower surfaces of the wing portion; and fixing theconnector in the hole in the one of the upper and lower surfaces of thewing portion.

At least one of the winglet and the wing portion may comprise one ormore spigots protruding therefrom, and at least one of the other of thewinglet and the wing portion comprises one or more corresponding recesstherein, and the method comprises: inserting the one or more spigotsinto the one or more corresponding recesses.

The method may comprise adjusting the retainer to adjust the extent towhich the connector extends into the winglet.

A sixth aspect of the invention provides an aircraft comprising awinglet according to the first aspect, or comprising a wing portionaccording to the second or third aspects, or comprising a systemaccording to the fourth aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of exampleonly, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a winglet attached to a wing portionaccording to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a winglet attached to a wing portionaccording to an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 3a to 3d show schematically a method of attaching a winglet to awing portion according to an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of an aircraft according to an embodimentof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in broad overview, a wing portion 102 (onlypartially illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 for clarity) of an aircraft (notitself shown in full in FIGS. 1 and 2) has connected thereto a winglet104. The wing portion 102 comprises a connector 106 protrudingtherefrom. The connector 106 extends into the winglet 104. The winglet104 comprises a retainer 108 internal of the winglet 104 for use inretaining the connector 106 relative to the winglet 104 in use. Theretainer 108 comprises a hole through which the connector 106 extends.The retainer 108 comprises a body 110 and a retention component 112 withwhich the connector 106 is engaged and which reacts against the body 110in use.

The wing portion 102 comprises an upper surface 116 (also known in theart as a suction surface 116) and lower surface 114 (also known in theart as a pressure surface 114), the lower surface 114 defining a hole(not visible in the figures) for receiving the connector 106. The upperand lower surfaces 116, 114 are “upper” and “lower” during normal use ofthe wing on the aircraft. The wing portion 102 comprises a fixingarrangement 122 internal of the wing portion 102 for fixing theconnector 106 in the hole (not visible). In this embodiment, theconnector 106 protrudes from the lower surface 114 of the wing portion102.

The wing portion 102 comprises an upper portion 150 at an end 170 of thewing distal to the fuselage of the aircraft (the end 170 extending intothe page in the sense of FIG. 1 and towards the left of the page in thesense of FIG. 2). For clarity, in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper portion 150is only partially shown. Due to the continuous smooth curve along thespan of the wing portion 102, the wing portion 102 may itself beconsidered an upper portion 150 of a wingtip device. The winglet 104 isa lower portion 104 of the wingtip device. Together the upper portion150 and the lower portion 104 may form the wingtip device. It will beappreciated that although a wingtip device with an upper portion 150 andan attachable a lower portion 104 is illustrated, this need notnecessarily be the case in other embodiments. For example, in someembodiments the wing portion 102 may instead be or comprise a lowerportion of a wingtip device, and the winglet 104 may be an upper portionof the wingtip device for attaching to the wing portion 102.

The winglet 104 comprises a winglet tip 180 and a winglet root 182opposite from the winglet tip 180. When connected to the wing portion102, the winglet root 182 is closer to the wing portion 102 that thewinglet tip 180. The winglet tip 180 is that part of the winglet 104which is most distal from the wing portion 102 in use, whereas thewinglet root 182 is that portion most proximal the wing portion 102 inuse. The winglet root 182 has, or defines, an opening 184 for receivingtherethrough the connector 106 for connecting the winglet 104 to thewing portion 102. The hole of the retainer 108 extends along an axisthat passes through the opening 184, and the hole is for receivingtherethrough a portion of the connector 106 when the connector 106 islocated through the opening 184. The winglet 104 also has upper andlower surfaces that extend between the winglet root 182 and the winglettip 180.

The winglet 104 comprises a C-section spar 152 (also referred to hereinas C spar 152). The C spar 152 is internal of and fixedly connectedrelative to the winglet tip 180, winglet root 182 and upper and lowersurfaces of the winglet 104. The C spar 152 extends along the span ofthe winglet 104. A first section 154 of the C spar 152 is connected toan upper panel 156 of the winglet (for example using rivets or thelike), and a second section 158 of the C spar 152 is connected to alower panel (removed in the Figures for clarity) of the winglet 104 (forexample using rivets or the like), and a third section 160 of the C spar152 connects the first section 154 and the second section 158 of the Cspar 152 together. The first 154, second 158 and third 160 sectionsforma spar 152 with a “C”-shaped cross section.

The retainer 108 is located inside of the C spar 152 and comprises abody 110 (also referred to herein as a lower reaction fitting 110)through which the connector 106 extends. The lower reaction fitting 110is fixedly connected to each of the first 154, second 158, and third 160sections of the C spar (for example by welding or any other suitableconnection). The hole (not visible in the figures) of the retainer 108through which the connector 106 extends is a hole through the body 110of the retainer 108. At least a portion of an inner surface of the holeis a bearing face for the connector 106. For example, the connector 106is a cylindrical spar 106, and the lower reaction fitting 110 defines acylindrical hole through which the connector 106 extends. An innercylindrical surface (not visible in the figures) of the lower reactionfitting 110 acts as a bearing surface for the outer cylindrical surface106 of the connector 106 extending therethrough. The lower reactionfitting 110 can therefore effectively react against forces applied viathe connector 106, and vice versa. The cylindrical nature of theconnector 106 and the lower reaction fitting 110, and hence thecylindrical nature of the bearing surfaces thereof, provide direct loadpaths in all directions in the plane perpendicular to the longitudinalaxis of the connector 106.

The retainer 108 comprises a retention component 112 (e.g. a nut 112)with which the connector 106 is engaged and which reacts against thelower reaction fitting 110 to retain the connector 106 in the winglet104. For example, the connector 106 may comprise a first threadedsurface (not shown), and the retention component 112 may comprise asecond threaded surface (not shown) for mating with the first threadedsurface. For example, the first threaded surface may be a male screwthread and the second threaded surface may be a corresponding femalescrew thread. The lower reaction fitting 110 provides a surface (notvisible in the figures) perpendicular to the axis of the connector 106against which the nut 112 reacts, and hence which prevents the winglet104 from becoming detached from the wing portion 102. The first threadedsurface of the connector 106 is distal from the lower surface 114 of thewing portion 102.

The winglet 104 is arranged to provide access for manual adjustment ofthe retainer 108. Specifically, the lower surface (removed for clarityin the Figures) of the winglet 104 has an aperture to allow access tothe retainer 108 from the exterior of the winglet 104. An access panel(removed for clarity in the Figures) is movable to access the apertureand to reveal an access window 162 in the second section 158 of the Cspar 152. The access window 162 allows access to and manual adjustmentof the nut 112. For example, the nut 112 may be adjusted to adjust theextent to which the connector 106 extends into the winglet 104. Forexample, the access window 162 allows for the manual tightening of thenut 112 against lower reaction fitting 110, thereby to increase theextent to which the connector 106 extends into the winglet 104 until thewinglet 104 is tightened fast to the wing portion 102. Similarly, theaccess window 162 allows for the manual loosening of the nut 112 withrespect to the connector 106, thereby allowing the winglet 104 to bedetached from the wing portion 102. For example, the nut 112 may beloosened so as to be removed from the connector 106, thereby allowingthe connector 106 to be completely withdrawn from the lower reactionfitting 110 (and hence winglet 104), hence allowing the winglet 104 tobe removed from the wing portion 102. In other embodiments, the aperturemay be in the upper surface of the winglet 104.

The ability to fixedly connect the winglet 104 to the wing portion 102by tightening a single nut 112, and indeed to disconnect and remove thewinglet 104 from the wing portion 102 by loosening a single nut,provides a particularly rapid and unlaborious way to attach and detach awinglet 104 to/from a wing portion 102. It is noted that since loadsparallel to the span of the winglet 104 are minimal in use, the loadsneeded to be reacted by the nut 112 are small.

The retainer 108 comprises a positive retaining component (not shown) tolimit movement of the retention component 112 (e.g. nut 112) relative tothe body 110 of the retainer 108. For example, a split pin may be usedto prevent the nut 112 from loosening with respect to the connector 106once the nut 112 has been tightened into place. This helps to ensurethat the attachment of the winglet 104 to the wing portion 102 issecure.

In some examples, the winglet 104 comprises a first thrust bearing (notshown), and the wing portion 102 comprises a second thrust bearing (notshown) that abuts against the first thrust bearing (not shown) when thewinglet 104 is attached to the wing portion 102. For example, when thenut 112 is tightened against the lower reaction fitting 110, and thewinglet 104 is thereby brought towards the wing portion 102, the firstthrust bearing of the winglet 104 and the second thrust bearing of thewing portion 102 will be brought towards each other until the firstthrust bearing abuts the second thrust bearing, such that the nut 112cannot be tightened further. The arrangement of the first and secondthrust bearings therefore define a minimum distance between the winglet104 and the wing portion 102. The first and second thrust bearings may,for example, be annular in shape, and the connector 106 may extendthrough the first and second thrust bearings. This may ensure thatforces parallel to the axis of the connector 106 may be symmetricallyreacted by the thrust bearings.

The winglet 104 comprises a faring 118 that forms a seal between thewinglet 104 and the wing portion 102, for example when the distancebetween the winglet 104 and the wing portion 102 is at the minimumdistance defined by the thrust bearings (not shown). The definition ofthe minimum distance by the thrust bearings may ensure that the fairing118 is not deformed on movement of the winglet 104 towards the wingportion 102. However, in some embodiments, the fairing may bedeformable. For example, the fairing may be resilient. This can helpprovide an improved seal.

An upper reaction fitting 164 is located in the C spar 152 at a locationalong the span of the winglet 104 proximal to the winglet root 182. Theupper reaction fitting 164 is fixedly connected to the C spar 152 in thesame way as the lower reaction fitting 110. Similarly to the lowerreaction fitting 110, the upper reaction fitting 164 defines acylindrical hole through which the connector 106 extends, and provides abearing surface against which forces applied via the connector 106perpendicular to the axis of the connector 106 may be reacted, and viceversa. The upper reaction fitting 164 and the lower reaction fitting 110may together effectively react moments applied to the winglet 104 viathe connector 106, and vice versa.

The C spar 152 (and accordingly the connector 106 and the reactionfittings 110, 164) is located approximately centrally of the winglet104, i.e. approximately at the centre of the chord of the winglet 104.In this embodiment, the axis of the hole of the lower reaction fitting110 extends along a path at which the lift force resulting from thewinglet 104 in use is greatest. Accordingly, in use the connector 106extends along this path. The C spar 152, reaction fittings 110, 164, andconnector 106 may therefore effectively react lift forces caused by thewinglet 104 in use.

The winglet 104 comprises one or more spigots 120 a, 120 f protrudingfrom the winglet root 182, and the wing portion 102 comprises one ormore corresponding recess therein (not shown). The, or each, recessextends along an axis that is parallel to an axis of the hole in thewing portion 102 and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the connector106. The positions of the one or more spigots 120 a, 120 f andcorresponding one or more recesses (not shown) are axially offset withrespect to the connector 106. For example one spigot 120 f may belocated forward of the connector 106 (i.e. towards the leading edge 166of the winglet 104), and one spigot 102 a may be located aft of theconnector 106 (i.e. towards the trailing edge 168 of the winglet 104).The spigots 120 a, 120 f react against the corresponding recesses (notshown) (and vice versa) thereby to react moments of the winglet 104about the connector 106 in a plane perpendicular to the connector 106(i.e. torque loads). The upper reaction fitting 164, the lower reactingfitting 110, and the spigots 120 a, 120 f therefore provide direct loadpaths that provide reactions against movement of the winglet 104 withrespect to the wing portion 102 in all six degrees of freedom.

It will be appreciated that although two spigots 120 a, 120 f areillustrated protruding from the winglet 104, this need not necessarilybe the case. For example, in other embodiments only one spigot 120 f maybe used, or any number of spigots (e.g. 3, 4, 5 . . . ) may be used.Further, one or more of the spigots may protrude instead from the wingportion 102, and there may be a corresponding one or more recesses inthe winglet 104 (such as in the winglet root 182) for receiving thespigot(s) of the wing portion 102. It will be appreciated that anycombination of spigots and recesses may be employed in either one of thewinglet 104 and wing portion 102.

At least one of the one or more spigots 120 a, 120 f may be tapered. Atleast one of the corresponding recesses (not shown) may be reciprocallytapered accordingly. This may assist the guiding of the one or morespigots 120 a, 120 f into the one or more corresponding recesses (notshown) when the winglet 104 and the wing portion 102 are broughttogether.

In this embodiment, the connector 106 extends partially into the wingportion 102, and the wing portion 102 comprises a fixing arrangement 122internal of the wing portion 102 that fixes the position of theconnector 106 with respect to the wing portion 102.

The fixing arrangement 122 and the connector 106 defines an axis(dot-dash line A in FIG. 2) that is perpendicular to a tangent (dot-dashline B in FIG. 2) to a lower surface 114 of the wing portion 102 at themouth of the hole (not shown) in the wing portion 102. Although notshown, it will be appreciated that in alternative arrangements, forexample if the winglet 104 is an upper portion of a wingtip device orotherwise, the hole may alternatively be in the upper surface 116 of thewing portion 102, and/or the connector 106 may alternatively define anaxis that is perpendicular to a tangent to the upper surface 116 of thewing portion 102 at the mouth of the hole.

The fixing arrangement 122 comprises an upper portion 172 that isfixedly connected to the upper surface 116 of the wing portion 120 andto a spar 176 of the wing portion 102, and a lower portion 124 (alsoreferred to herein is a main reaction fitting 124) that is fixedlyconnected to the lower surface 114 of the wing portion 102 and to thespar 176 of the wing portion 102. The upper portion 172 and the lowerportion 124 are in mechanical contact with each other so that loads canspread therebetween. The connector 106 extends through the hole (notvisible in the Figures) in the lower surface 114 of the wing portion102, and through a recess (not visible in the figures) of the mainreaction fitting 124 so as to be engaged with the upper portion 172 ofthe fixing arrangement 122. At least a portion of an inner surface ofthe recess of the main reaction fitting 124 is a bearing face for theconnector 106. For example, the connector 106 is a cylindrical spar 106,and the main reaction fitting 124 defines a cylindrical hole throughwhich the connector 106 extends. An inner cylindrical surface (notvisible in the figures) of the main reaction fitting 110 acts as abearing surface for the outer cylindrical surface 106 of the connector106 extending therethrough.

The fixing arrangement 122 releasably fixes the connector 106 to thewing portion 102. In this embodiment, the connector 106 comprises a malethreaded surface (not visible in the Figures), and the upper portion 172of the fixing arrangement 122 defines a bore (not visible in theFigures) with a corresponding female threaded surface for mating withthe male threaded surface of the connector 106. The connector 106 maytherefore be engaged with the bore of the upper portion 172 and rotatedabout its axis A-A thereby to tighten the connector 106 into the upperportion 172 of the fixing arrangement 122, and hence to fix theconnector with respect to the wing portion 102. The bore (not visible inthe Figures) has a closed end against which the connector 106 may abutwhen the connector 106 is fully tightened into the upper portion 172 ofthe fixing arrangement 122. It will be appreciated that in this case thehole in the lower surface 114 of the wing portion 102 is a blind hole.

If desired, the connector 106 may be unscrewed to release the connector106 from the fixing arrangement 122. It will therefore be appreciatedthat in this embodiment the connector 106 is removable from both thewing portion 102 and from the winglet 104. The ability to fixedlyconnect the winglet 104 to the wing portion 102 only by tightening theconnector 106 into the fixing arrangement 122 and the simple connectionof the winglet 104 to the connector 106 thereafter as described aboveprovides a particularly rapid and unlaborious way to attach (and indeeddetach) a winglet 104 to/from a wing portion 102. Moreover, removal ofthe connector 106 from the fixing arrangement 122 leaves only a smallhole (not visible in the figures) in the wing portion 102, which can becovered (if necessary) simply and quickly with an appropriate faring or“plug”, for example. Removal of the winglet 104 from the wing portion102 therefore necessitates little or no further alteration to wingportion 102 in order for the aircraft to fly without the winglet 104 ifdesired, and hence allows for particularly rapid attachment/detachmentof the winglet 104 to/from the wing portion 102.

Minimal components need to be accessed and/or removed in order toremove, exchange or install the winglet 104, which increases thereliability and longevity of the system. Access only to one side of thewinglet 104 is needed in order to attach/remove the winglet 104, hencefurther increasing the speed and simplicity of attachment/removal of thewing portion. No special tools are required to install and/or remove thewinglet 104. Moreover, since the attachment of the connector 106 to thewinglet 104 is internal of the winglet 104, winglets 104 of variousshapes and sizes can be interchangeably connected to the wing portion102 without any corresponding modification to the wing portion 102. Thatis, the system satisfies interchangeability (ICY) requirements. Theminimum distance between the winglet 104 and the wing portion 102defined by the abutting thrust bearings (not shown) allows the faring118 of the winglet 104 to provide predictable sealing of the winglet 104to the wing portion 102, and hence reduces the complexity of sealing ascompared to conventional designs.

The above described examples require a relatively few and simplecomponents as compared to conventional designs based on butt straps orthe like. This reduces the overall weight of the system as compared tosuch conventional designs.

In the above described examples, the resultant moment from the airpressure on the winglet 104 in use is reacted by the main reactionfitting 124 of the wing portion 102 and the upper reaction fitting 164of the winglet 104. The distance between the main reaction fitting 124and the upper reaction fitting 164 is relatively large (and independentof the thickness of the winglet 104), and hence the loads needed to bereacted by the main reaction fitting 124 and the upper reaction fitting164 for a given moment are relatively small. This is as compared to someconventional designs in which the moment is reacted at the upper andlower skins of the winglet, the distance between which is dependent onthe thickness of the winglet and can be relatively small, and hence theloads reacted relatively large and dependant on the thickness of thewinglet. The above described examples therefore reduce the reactionsrequired to be provided by the fittings in some cases by up to a third.Moreover, the above described examples react the loads from air pressureon the winglet 104 in the same plane as the skins (i.e. the upper andlower surfaces) of the winglet 104, which is more efficient than inconventional designs where this is not the case.

The connector 106 may comprise a fusible portion (not shown). That is, aportion of the connector 106 may be purposefully configured to fail orbreak at a predefined stress, for example sheer stress. This may beuseful to ensure that if the winglet 104 were to contact an externalobject with greater than a predetermined force, the winglet 104 detachesfrom the wing portion 102 before the force is able to damage the wingportion 102.

Referring to FIGS. 3a to 3d , an example method of attaching the winglet104 to the wing portion 102 is described.

In a first step as shown schematically in FIG. 3a , the connector 106 isinserted (arrow C) into the hole in the lower surface 114 of the wingportion 102 so as to engage with the fixing arrangement 122.

In a second step as shown schematically in FIG. 3b , connector 106 ismated (arrow D) with the fixing arrangement 122 to fix the connector 106with respect to the hole and the wing portion 102. In this embodiment,the male threaded surface of the connector 106 is engaged with thefemale threaded surface of the fixing arrangement 122 by rotating theconnector 106 in a clockwise fashion until the connector 106 abutsagainst a surface of the upper portion 172 of the fixing arrangement122. As a result of the first and second steps, the connector 106protrudes from the lower surface 114 of the wing portion 102. It will beunderstood that in other embodiments in which the hole in the wingportion 102 is through the upper surface 116 of the wing portion 102,the connector 106 would then protrude from the upper surface 116 of thewing portion 102.

In a third step as shown schematically in FIGS. 3c and 3d , the winglet104 is placed (arrows E) over the connector 106 so that the connector106 is inserted into the winglet 104 through the opening 184 of thewinglet root 182 and into the hole of the lower reaction fitting 110 ofthe retainer 108. At this stage, the spigots 120 a, 120 f of the winglet104 are inserted into the corresponding recesses (not shown in thefigures) in the wing portion 102.

In a fourth step as shown schematically in FIG. 3d , the retentioncomponent 112 (e.g. nut 112) is engaged with the connector 106 so thatthe retention component 112 reacts against the lower reaction fitting110 of the retainer 108 so as to retain the connector 106 in the winglet104. More specifically, in this embodiment a male threaded end 106 a ofthe connector 106 extends through the lower reaction fitting 110 (notvisible in FIG. 3d ), a female threaded nut 112 is manually engaged withthe male threaded end 106 a of the connector 106, and the nut 112 isrotated (arrow F) clockwise so as to tighten the nut 112 onto theconnector 106. The nut 112 is tightened (arrow F) until it abuts thelower reaction fitting 110 (not visible in FIG. 3). The nut 112 may thenbe further tightened so as to adjust the extent to which the connector106 extends into the winglet 104 until the winglet 104 is tightened fastto the wing portion 102. For example, the retainer 108 may be adjustedsuch that a first thrust bearing (not shown) of the winglet 104 and thesecond thrust bearing (not shown) of the wing portion 102 abut eachother to define a minimum distance between the wing portion 102 and thewinglet 104. At this stage, a positive retaining component (not shown),for example a split pin, may be inserted through a hole in the connector106 to help prevent loosening of the nut 112 with respect to theconnector 106.

It will be appreciated that the above steps can be performed in reverseso as to disconnect the winglet 104 from the wing portion 102. Briefly:After removing any positive retaining component (not shown) through theconnector 106, the nut 112 may be loosened (rotated anticlockwise) andremoved from the connector 106, and the connector 106 may be extractedfrom the winglet 104. The connector 106 may also be loosened (rotatedanticlockwise) and removed from the fixing arrangement 122 in the wingportion 102. The hole (not visible) in the lower surface 114 of the wingportion 102 may then be sealed by inserting an appropriately dimensionedfaring or plug.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of an example aircraft 400 comprising theabove described wing portion 102 and winglet 104.

Although the illustrated examples refer to the connector 106 extendinginto the wing portion 102 and being engaged into the fixing arrangement122, it will be appreciated that this need not necessarily be the case.In other examples, the wing portion 102 may comprise a connectorprotruding from an upper 116 or lower 114 surface of the wing portion102. In these examples, the connector 106 may have only one threadedsurface, for example a male thread, at an end 106 a of the connector 106distal from the wing portion 102.

Although in the above examples the connector 106 is a cylindrical sparwith a male threaded end 106 a received and secured into a femalethreaded nut 112, which nut reacts against the lower reaction fitting110, it will be appreciated that this need not necessarily be the case.For example, the nut may instead be a capped nut which is only open atone end. Indeed, it will be appreciated that there are many otherpossibilities for engaging a connector with a retention component thatreacts against a body of a retainer. In some embodiments, the connector106 need not be cylindrical, and at least a portion thereof may becuboidal or have any other shaped cross section. Accordingly, thereaction fittings 110, 172, 164 need not have cylindrical recesses, andmay be shaped accordingly to receive therethrough the connector 106 orportion thereof.

The above described examples are to be understood as illustrativeexamples only. Any feature described in relation to any one example maybe used alone, or in combination with other features described, and mayalso be used in combination with one or more features of any other ofthe examples, or any combination of any other of the examples.Furthermore, equivalents and modifications not described above may alsobe employed without departing from the scope of the invention, which isdefined in the accompanying claims.

1. A wing portion for an aircraft, the wing portion comprising: an uppersurface and a lower surface, at least one of the upper and lowersurfaces defining a hole, the hole being for receiving a connector forconnecting a winglet to the wing portion; and a fixing arrangementinternal of the wing portion, the fixing arrangement being for fixingthe connector in the hole.
 2. A wing portion according to claim 1,wherein the hole is a blind hole.
 3. A wing portion according to claim1, wherein the fixing arrangement is for releasably fixing the connectorin the hole.
 4. A wing portion according to claim 1, wherein the holedefines an axis that is perpendicular to the one of the upper and lowersurfaces at a mouth of the hole.
 5. A wing portion according to claim 1,wherein the lower surface defines the hole.
 6. A wing portion accordingto claim 1, wherein the fixing arrangement comprises a threaded surfacefor mating with a threaded surface of the connector.
 7. A wing portionaccording to claim 6, wherein the threaded surface of the fixingarrangement is a female screw thread.
 8. A wing portion according toclaim 1, wherein the wing portion comprises one or more recesses forreceiving one or more corresponding spigots of the winglet in use.
 9. Awing portion according to claim 8, wherein the, or each, recess extendsalong an axis that is parallel to an axis of the hole.
 10. A wingportion according to claim 1 comprising the connector, wherein theconnector is received in the hole and is fixed in the hole by the fixingarrangement.